The Democratic primary for governor is not the only race in which the ballot won’t accurately reflect who’s really running. The senate race in District 42 — which will decide who succeeds Sen. Jim Brochin — has its own complications.
Two Democrats — Gretchen Maneval of Stoneleigh and Robbie Leonard of Timonium — were vying for the Democratic nomination in District 42. Then in late March, Maneval announced that she would not move forward with her campaign because of medical issues. But at that point it was too late for her name to be removed from the ballot; the deadline to withdraw from a primary race was March 1.
Leonard
If Maneval, who has not publicly endorsed Leonard, were to win the primary but then withdraw before the November general election, it would fall to the Baltimore County Democratic Party to decide which candidate to put forward. That candidate would not necessarily be Leonard.
“Based on everything we have in front of us, it’s very likely we would choose him, but we could select someone different,” said Tara Ebersole, chair of the Baltimore County Democratic Party.
“If Robbie gets a DUI and we find out he has a child by a mistress and he’s been extorting funds, OK, well, Robbie, sorry, but you won’t be our guy,” Ebersole said with a laugh. “But Robbie is a great guy and I don’t see that happening.”
For his part, Leonard said he’s hitting the campaign trail as usual.
“My job as a candidate running for office, regardless of whether I have one opponent or two or three or an uncontested race, is to do my best to explain why I deserve someone’s vote. That’s what I’ve been doing since July 2017 and that’s what I’m continuing to do,” Leonard said. “I’ve continued to knock on doors and do meet-and-greets once or twice a week throughout the district.”
West
Assuming he wins the Democratic primary, Leonard will face state Del. Chris West in the general election. West is running unopposed in the Republican primary. Brochin gave up the seat to run for county executive; he is facing Johnny Olszewski Jr. and Vicki Almond in the primary.
In the 42nd district, which runs from Towson up through Cockeysville to the Pennsylvania line, there are 39,000 registered Democrats; 31,000 Republicans; and 16,000 independents. The primary is June 26; early voting is June 14 to June 21.
Robbie is clearly the best candidate in the race for Senator in District 42. His law experience, his public policy experience, and his knowledge of the issues that concern the district all qualify him against any other candidate. He has also been campaigning tirelessly for a year so should easily win the nomination in his own right. However, if the scenario described in this story were to occur, there’s no conceivable reason why the Baltimore County Democratic Party would not choose him as their nominee. That would be unconscionable.
Margie Brassil, Anneslie Resident and former Chair of the Baltimore County Democratic Party